June 9, 2016

World Naked Bike Ride, Las Vegas, Baby!

We have been covering and uncovering the World Naked Bike Ride since our inception in 2007. The future of Bike Smut is still unknown but we are confident the ideals inherent to biking naked will carry on!

This weekend for the first time ever the denizens of the City of Sin are encouraged to bare their bodies to the reality of modern living which include (but are not limited to):

Shame and ridicule for having bodies that are not up to Hollywood standards

Exposure to auto emissions

Sunburns

Traffic

Seeing others naked bodies

Others seeing your naked body

Fun times

Its an odd thing but when enough people gather together to do something that would normally be dangerous or even off-putting, it suddenly becomes acceptable... even patriotic! Such is the nature of community standards. If the community decides that it doesn’t find nudity offensive then its not offensive. Shall we just blindly inherent our sense of morals from our fore-bearers, who inherited theirs from some stuffy Victorian sense of puritanical propriety? NAY! We must proudly examine our taboos with great trepidation (and a pinch of zeal) so as to avoid continuing lame traditions that at best may have suited a community for its time but were never meant to be carried on so long and at worse should never have been considered in the first place.

The Erotic Museum has made a pledge to help protect our individual right to explore sexuality freely and without shame or coercion. So the "Bare As You Dare" idea of the World Naked Bike Ride fits in perfectly. This idea has not escaped our local media. Rosalie Spear of the Las Vegas Weekly made it their front page story this week:

In our society, the human body is highly sexualized, and its public
baring is usually deemed a criminal offense.
The World Naked
Bike Ride already occurs annually in more than 75 cities in over
20 countries. This peaceful political protest celebrates our natural
form in a non-sexual manner while calling attention to the world’s
dependence on fossil fuels. Riding nude suggests a dichotomy, between
being vulnerable yet empowered.

That may be the most concise, intellectual way that idea has been expressed. Take a moment to imagine being a driver in a car and seeing many naked bikers. You likely would give them more room because, "I don't want to hit them, they are naked!" Yet you could pass every other biker without a second thought about their safety. As if clothes offered sufficient protection. A case study showed that drivers passed closer to cyclists wearing bike helmets, presumably because they were less concerned about hitting them so it stands to reason naked bikers would be even safer!

Moreover, Las Vegas may be the most difficult place to bike in North America. Having traveled across much of the country we can say with certainty that there are aspects that are absolutely brutal. Most major roads feel more like highways with more active traffic entering and exiting from all the businesses. They both often have 3, 4 or more lanes of travel and lights that are timed for travel at speeds that are near impossible for bikers to maintain. The neighborhood streets in between major arteries often result in dead ends leaving the unwary biker right where they started, only more dehydrated as the endless asphalt keeps the desert heat long into the night. This compounded with half the population visiting from elsewhere, being encouraged to drink and gamble all day and night with the comfort that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.

YIKES!

Though all this we find a way. Like many bikers in other cities we learn techniques for mitigating risk. We ride in packs when possible. We learn safer routes and times but there are still a lot of people on the margins. People who haven't been riding long, or haven't thought to look for a different route. By building a stronger community we make it possible for us to organize and improve the conditions for everyone.

This is actually really important because this joyous parade is protected part of our freedom of expression. The people have the right to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. Say it proud what you think, or better yet, show up early and write your ideas on your skin. You know loads of people will be reading your thoughts (as long as its not too wordy).

This is a WORLD naked bike ride. It happens in dozens of places all over the world. We can help each other by letting people know where to join a naked ride in

Its no wonder that the WNBR and Bike Smut are such good friends. It is only with the autonomy of our own bodies independence that we can feel free to explore freely (or conversely, give up that freedom to a trusted dominant partner).

Its your body! Its your life! Expose it as you will without the burden of patriarchal norms that should have been phased out more than a century ago. Bring a friend and join us as we take to the streets in Las Vegas' First ever World Naked Bike Ride!

Bike Smut is...

At first you may not see the connections between sex and cycling. Some are attracted to the sleek designs, some champion the liberation of women, (eg how bikes put pants on women) while others think bikers are hot and want to fuck them.

We can help.

Our program of short, DIY bike pornography is specially designed to provide you the tools to meet, converse and potentially reach orgasm with bikers in your area!

We endorse:

joyful exploration,

shameless flirtation,

and radical honesty.

Movies are a powerful medium, but even more impressive is what creative ideas come from a community gathering to appreciate the cause of better sex and better transportation! Workshops, dance parties, lectures and discussion groups, potlucks, craft nights, naked/underwear bike rides, and more take part in bettering your community by helping to define obscenity for yourself...